Six Stories

Scarclaw Fell is a wild area in Northumberland popular with hikers, cavers & climbers. Its beautiful but treacherous terrain is riddled with marshes, old mine tunnels & neolithic grave sites. In 1996, two adults & 5 teens arrived for a few days of R&R during school break. Sadly, one of them went missing & was never found.

In 1997 the land was purchased by Lord Ramsay, much to the dismay of locals & environmentalists. But for his son Harry, it was the perfect place to hang with a couple of friends & plenty of booze. Or it was until they stumbled across the body. Tom Jeffries, the missing teen, is found.

Twenty years on Harry is approached by the enigmatic host of the podcast “Six Stories”. Scott King’s specialty is digging into old show more cases & retelling the events through multiple POV’s of the people involved. And although the Ramsays have never spoken publicly, Harry decides it’s time.

What follows are conversations between Scott & 6 of the people who were there in 1996. And just like any story, there are definitely 6 different versions. Some of their memories are shared but each has something unique to add that puts their own slant on what happened to Tom. As the conversations progress, ugly truths begin to emerge. All the participants are 20 years older now & able to look back on some of their youthful acts with clarity & regret.

As the series continues, it becomes extremely popular & reignites media attention. Everyone is on edge waiting for the final instalment & Harry begins to wonder if he made a terrible mistake. In alternate chapters, we walk with him as he visits the fell for the first time in years & reexamines everything that happened the night they found Tom’s body.

I don’t want to reveal any more of the plot as there are so many different twists & elements to the story. It’s much more fun to just “listen” to the podcasts as they unfold & see if you can guess the ending. The novel’s format is so clever & reels you in from the start. It’s a modern day version of a time when people sat around the radio listening to their favourite serials. The lack of visual distraction created an an intimacy between the faceless voices & listeners as they (and us) hang on every word.

There’s a tense, almost claustrophobic feel to the podcast chapters & it’s really tempting to race to the finish. Don’t. The devil is in the details & each of the people interviewed has a secret they’ve been keeping. Our walks with Harry are richly atmospheric & the fell itself becomes an ominous character that’s been looming over their lives for 20 years.

It’s a creepy & compelling story that also makes you think about larger issues. Some of the passages will give you goose bumps, some will have you checking the locks. There are no bells & whistles here, just great story telling that allows your imagination to run wild. What else do you need? show less

Maybe I liked this as much as I did, because I'd read some pretty mixed things about the book before hand. I wish I could always go into books expecting to be disappointed, because it's always such a nice surprise to have that expectation proven wrong.

The book is told almost entirely in a podcast format, so I highly recommend you listen to the full cast audiobook version. Well produced and makes it a lot easier to keep track of who's talking when.

I personally really liked the structure of the book. The characterization of teenagers and their actions were painfully spot on. Especially the parts about bullying and ostracization, the justification of unnecessary cruelty, the black and white thinking of youth and the ability for even the show more most decent kids to look the other way. Almost no one was blameless in this (at least of the people who were interviewed), but you could understand where they were coming from. (Well, one of the interviewees was blameless and their parts were the hardest to listen to, but other than that.)

The ending comes with a sort of double plot twist. I got the first part before hand, but didn't realize the whole picture. It didn't make a big difference, though, enjoyment wise, but it did sort of shift your perspective at the very end as to what was what.

I don't know man, I just really enjoyed most things about this book. The only thing that made this less than perfect was the time it took for me to catch on to what was going on in the beginning, structure wise. But that's not generally a huge problem for me in books, especially when things eventually start making more sense.

Looking forward to reading Hydra next. At some point). show less

I continue to be drawn to books that integrate and center around (fictional) podcasts, especially when they are mysteries. Six Stories surrounds a podcast with a host who has kept his true identity a secret, wearing a mask when he meets with his subjects. His podcast, Six Stories, is examining the death of a teenager that was ruled accidental years ago. Six people are interviewed, and each tell their perspective and version of what happened.

This book was absolutely fascinating and flew by. I didn't know who to trust, who was telling the truth, and kept searching every "episode" for clues. The format is fantastic, and used so well. And the ending, the sixth story, left me with my jaw on the ground. Wesolowski is such a unique, talented show more writer, and more people need to read this book. I've already got a copy of the second book in the Six Stories series, and will be starting it today. show less

This is a book that simply lends itself to being listened to because it is based on podcasts. These episodic radio programmes look into the death of 15-year-old Tom Jeffries who disappeared one night in 1997 while on an outward bound type outing with a group of four friends supervised by two adults. Twenty years later, six people who knew Tom and were at Scarclaw Fell in Northumberland at the time of his disappearance are being interviewed about their memories of that time. These podcasts are interspersed with chapters from the perspective of Henry Saint Clement-Ramsey, who, together with some friends, found Tom's body a year after his disappearance near the Woodlands Centre, which is owned by Henry's father.
What happened to Tom? The show more verdict was misadventure. But was there more to it?
I read and listen to a lot. I think this was book 88 this year. Six Stories was unique and really stands out from other mysteries, thrillers and/or horror stories. Each episode introduces the listener/reader to a character's take on the events leading up to the disappearance of Tom. Each character voices their opinion on the group dynamics at the time. Gradually, a picture of this group of teenagers who spent time together in the Northumbrian countryside is revealed, and it isn't a nice one. Add to that the mythological undertone that provided an ever present, eerie background, and I was hooked. I even went out for a walk in the rain to guarantee uninterrupted listening time.
This was relatively short at roughly 300 pages and the audio lasts 8 hours (if you keep it at normal speed) but Matt Wesolowski managed to create fully fleshed out characters and listening to 8 different narrators portraying those involved, you could have fooled me into thinking I was listening to "real people". The audio production was excellent. I have not one ounce of criticism for any of the narrators. Each character was brought to life perfectly, including believable accents and all.
The mystery had me puzzled throughout and I was thoroughly surprised by some of the revelations. Original, atmospheric and totally enthralling, this was a very unsettling listen in parts, but I loved every minute of it. Highly recommended reading but for that extra special something, listen to the audio version and hear the chillingly real characters relay their stories during the six podcast episodes. So well done!
My thanks to the publisher who provided me with an ARC via NetGalley, but I just had to listen to the audio (purchased by myself). show less

Six Stories – An Original & Chilling Thriller

It is not often that a debut can knock you sideways but Six Stories is that debut, it is an original and chilling thriller that keeps you guess all the way to the end. You could say that Six Stories should fail, the same story repeated six times, but what you get is a taut, claustrophobic and atmospheric thriller that is utterly compelling. This is a dark suspense thriller that will keep you gripped from beginning to end.

In 1997, the body of Tom Jeffries is found on the marshes of Scarclaw Fell and at the later coroner’s inquest a verdict of misadventure is found to be the cause of his death. Not everybody is convinced that this is the correct verdict.

It is 2017, Scott King is an show more investigative journalist who has a podcast that is popular as he likes to investigate complicated cases, which in turn has made him a cult figure. He decides to look in to what happened to Tom Jeffries in a series of six interviews with people that were on Scarclaw Fell to see if he can find the truth about what happened in 1996 when Tom Jeffries went missing.

Looking in to the group dynamics of teenagers twenty years after the event, when they were nicknamed the Rangers. As their back stories come out will any of their stories match or will they be completely different? It is a common fact that eye witness accounts are never the same and suggestions could easily be made to what they saw and did at the time. How honest will they be in this investigation?

What transpires is not a victim that elicits sympathy, eyewitnesses and friends well that are just as unsympathetic and at times annoying. Somehow all these characters get under your skin and draw you in and leave you guessing the outcome. A truly brilliant debut. show less

A really excellent Rashomon-style story of the disappearance and death of a teenage boy fifteen years ago, framed as a podcast in six episodes, each one focusing on the perspective of one of the people who was on a camping trip with the boy when he disappeared. It strikes that perfect balance of plausibility, where either the realistic or the supernatural explanation could be true, and you'll probably never know which one.

Dark… Twisted… Creepy… Crazy… Fantastic!!!

Matt Wesolowski is a natural born writer! It is very hard to believe that this is his debut novel.

This mind blowing novel is told in present day through podcasts about the murder of a teenage boy, Tom Jeffries, that took place 20 years ago in 1997. With six podcast interviews and six transcripts of those interviews, Wesolowski’s story-telling is original, genius and works on so many different levels. He draws you in from the very first sentence on the very first page. Be prepared for a wild ride!

I could go on and give you more details about this story, but I’m not, you will know way too much. I urge you to go and buy this book… you won’t regret it!!!

An absolute winner that I show more highly recommend!

*I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review* show less